Lib diehard sings praises as Carr appeals to the bush

Busy at Visy ... Carr at the Visy paper mill, which will undergo a $60million expansion. Photo: Andrew Meares

Bob Carr hit the hustings yesterday talking up what he described as a great Labor tradition - helping rural NSW - and found himself welcoming the endorsement of a Melbourne billionaire.

Launching Country Labor's election campaign at Goulburn Workers Club, the Premier outlined promises as big as spending $13million on increasing safety of railway level crossings and as small as ensuring all bush schools have separate toilets for students and staff.

Two hours later in Tumut, Mr Carr toured a paper mill, which he and the chairman of Visy, Richard Pratt, announced would undergo a $60million expansion, after the State Government fast-tracked the original development.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I didn't think I'd ever be heard saying this, but vote Labor at the next state election," Mr Pratt, a major Liberal Party donor, declared.

"We need ever vote we can get," Mr Carr responded.

Later Mr Pratt was asked about his surprise at finding himself praising a Labor premier.

"I'm a capitalist. Capitalists can't vote for Labor," he said. "[But] I think voting for Bob Carr is a vote for industry and a vote for big business."

Announced at the same venue where Country Labor was launched four years ago, the huge private investment in Tumut was one of Mr Carr's biggest pledges, along with a $56million upgrade of Hynes and Sons sawmill at Tumbarumba.

Mr Carr was welcomed to the stage by Country Labor's convenor, the upper house MP Tony Kelly, who described the alliance as "the voice of country families in Macquarie Street".

Goulburn and Tumut are within the seat of Burrinjuck, held narrowly by the National Party MP Katrina Hodgkinson. Seven lower house MPs identify themselves as Country Labor, with one, Harry Woods, retiring at this election.

With the retirement of Richard Face, Michael Costa would become the only cabinet minister who does not live in Sydney.

Mr Carr bade Mr Woods "a fond and grateful farewell".

"We've put our plans together by listening to him and developing a whole new approach to politics in rural NSW, a Country Labor approach," Mr Carr said.

"Since 1995, we've held 36 cabinet meetings in rural and regional NSW ... This regional policy launch itself continues a tradition established by [wartime premier] Bill McKell in 1941. It's one of the ways we keep ourselves accountable as a government, to all the people, in all the regions."

Mr Carr said NSW's 340,000 school-age children would benefit from programs, including the statewide extension of a retention benefit of $5000 for each year a teacher stayed in a "very hard-to-staff" school.

A re-elected Labor government would similarly spend $3.6million over four years on a "police remote locations plan", which would offer a one-off $5000 incentive for officers who chose remote appointments.

Health care would be improved by a $5million program extending state coverage of medical indemnity insurance for a doctor's private work to rural areas, as long as that work was performed in a public hospital, and $17million for renal services in rural NSW.

He also said the Government would spend $2.7million to help the environmental recovery of the Snowy River, $2.8million to upgrade the Goulburn police academy and $2million to help rural and regional businesses break into new markets.